Diving & Underwater Construction Work SWMS
NSW — Diving & Underwater Construction Work. Full task scope, hazards and controls to be authored to Phase 1 standard.
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Diving and underwater construction is commercial diving carried out to build, inspect, repair or maintain underwater and marine structures. It is high risk construction work under the WHS Regulation because it is carried out in or near water with a risk of drowning and it is diving work (s291), so a SWMS is mandatory (s299). Commercial diving is among the most unforgiving work in construction: the diver is dependent on a life-support system, separated from the surface, and a failure that would be trivial on land — a gas-supply interruption, an entanglement, a loss of communication — can be fatal in minutes. The defining hazards are drowning and the diving-physiology hazards: decompression illness from ascending too fast, barotrauma, hypothermia, and gas problems including hypoxia and contamination of the breathing supply. Underwater construction adds the surface and vessel hazards, plant and lifting underwater, and environmental conditions such as current and poor visibility. The controls turn on a competent, certified dive team to AS 2299, a dive plan and dive supervisor, redundant breathing-gas supply, continuous communications, a standby diver and a tested decompression and emergency recovery procedure. The SWMS controls the diving operation and its surface support. It is supplied in eight jurisdiction editions, each citing its own Act, Regulation and regulator, with marine duties left to the applicable state legislation.
Hazards identified
8 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Diver fatality underwater (central HRCW)
Serious injury or death from dissolved-gas release
Hypoxia, toxic exposure or asphyxiation underwater
Diver trapped underwater and unable to surface
Inability to manage an emergency or recover the diver
Diver incapacitation and disorientation
Struck-by, propeller injury or fall into the water
Crush, cut or entanglement injury during construction tasks
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Elimination — Carry out the inspection or task by remotely operated vehicle (ROV) or from the surface so no diver enters the water where the work allows
- 2Substitution — Substitute surface-supplied diving with redundant gas for scuba on any commercial task requiring reliability and rescue capability
- 3Engineering — Surface-supplied breathing system with a redundant (bail-out) gas supply, continuous voice communications and a lifeline/umbilical
- 4Engineering — Isolation and lockout of intakes, pumps and differential-pressure sources before the diver enters the water
- 5Engineering — Dive platform, ladder and recovery system, with propeller guards and vessel isolation during diving
- 6Administrative — Dive plan and dive supervisor to AS 2299, a certified dive team and a tested decompression schedule
- 7Administrative — Standby diver ready, an emergency recovery and first-aid plan, and recompression-chamber access arranged
- 8Administrative — Conditions assessment (current, visibility, temperature) and marine coordination under the applicable state legislation
- 9PPE — Commercial diving dress appropriate to the water temperature, helmet with comms, and a bail-out cylinder
- 10PPE — Surface crew PFDs, and thermal protection for the diver against hypothermia
Applicable Codes of Practice
Primary standard for commercial diving operations and safety
General construction duties and SWMS requirements where the diving supports construction
Duties where the dive is into an enclosed or restricted underwater space
Certification basis for the dive team
Reference for diver competency where applicable
Reference for breathing-gas supply and quality
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
The work is carried out underwater with a risk of drowning.
The work is commercial diving work.
Who this is for
- →Commercial diving contractors and dive supervisors
- →Underwater construction and marine-infrastructure crews
- →Port, harbour and bridge maintenance diving services
- →Standby divers and surface support crews
- →Marine project managers coordinating dive operations
What you receive
- ✓Editable DOCX template — Microsoft Word compatible
- ✓State-specific WHS legislation schedule (NSW/VIC/QLD/SA/WA/TAS/NT/ACT)
- ✓Hazard register with risk ratings + hierarchy-of-control mapping
- ✓Worker sign-on register, pre-start checklist, and incident escalation flow
Worked example
At 6:00 am a dive team from Tideworks Marine prepares to repair a bridge pier underwater in a tidal river. The dive supervisor runs the dive plan to AS 2299: surface-supplied gas with a redundant bail-out, continuous voice comms down the umbilical, and a standby diver dressed and ready on the platform. Before the diver enters, the nearby intake pump is isolated and locked out so there is no differential-pressure trap, and the support vessel's propeller is shut down and tagged. Conditions are assessed — the tide is slack and visibility marginal — and the dive window is set to the slack period. The diver descends in a helmet with comms and thermal protection, the supervisor logging depth and time against the decompression schedule. Mid-task the diver reports the umbilical snagging on debris; the supervisor calmly directs the diver to clear it and pauses the work, with the standby diver moved to readiness. The diver is recovered on the schedule, decompresses as planned, and recompression-chamber access is confirmed available throughout the operation.
Related legislation
- WHS Act 2011 (model)
- WHS Regulation 2025
- AS 2299.1 Occupational diving operations
- Construction Work Code of Practice
Frequently asked questions
Is commercial diving high risk construction work?
Yes, on two independent grounds. WHS Regulation section 291(q) captures work carried out in or near water or other liquid that involves a risk of drowning, and section 291(r) captures diving work in its own right. Underwater construction work meets both at once, so the section 299 duty applies and the SWMS must be prepared, consulted on and signed before the operation begins. Where the dive is into an enclosed or restricted underwater space, the confined space duties apply on top. This document controls the diving operation and its surface support, in eight jurisdiction editions.
Does this replace the dive plan and AS 2299 requirements?
No. It sits around them. The dive plan, the appointed dive supervisor, the certified dive team and the tested decompression schedule are all required under AS 2299 and remain the operating instruments for the dive itself. This SWMS documents the risk controls for the diving operation and its surface support, and references those instruments rather than substituting for them. Diver certification is governed separately under AS 2815. Marine duties — vessel operation, navigation and waterway coordination — are left to the applicable state legislation, because they sit outside the WHS SWMS.
What breathing-gas arrangement does it require?
Surface-supplied breathing with a redundant bail-out supply, continuous voice communications and a lifeline or umbilical — with scuba explicitly substituted out for any commercial task requiring reliability and rescue capability. Loss or contamination of the gas supply is a top-rated hazard because the outcome is hypoxia, toxic exposure or asphyxiation with the diver separated from the surface. The diver wears a helmet with communications and carries a bail-out cylinder. A standby diver must be dressed and ready throughout, with an emergency recovery and first-aid plan and recompression-chamber access arranged before the dive begins.
Does it cover differential pressure and entanglement?
Yes, and differential pressure is handled as an isolation problem rather than a diver-skill problem. Intakes, pumps and any differential-pressure source must be isolated and locked out before the diver enters the water, because a diver drawn into an intake cannot self-rescue. Vessel propellers are shut down and guarded, with the vessel isolated during diving. Entanglement and entrapment are carried as a separate top-rated hazard, and the worked example shows the intended response when an umbilical snags on debris: pause the work, direct the diver to clear it, and move the standby diver to readiness.
What do I receive and which jurisdiction does it cover?
An editable DOCX template in Microsoft Word format, bought once, supplied in eight jurisdiction editions covering NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, WA, TAS, NT and ACT, each citing its own Act, Regulation and regulator. It includes the hazard register with hierarchy-of-control mapping and a worker sign-on register, pre-start checklist and incident escalation flow. Your site, structure, depth, gas arrangement, decompression schedule reference and chamber access details are entered before the team signs on — surface crew included, since the platform, ladder and recovery system are inside the scope.
Document details
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